Saturday, September 29, 2012

American Gods


What joy! A great long book by Neil Gaiman which I hadn't previously read! Though it was published over ten years ago, somehow I missed it but now... well, it's held me in thrall for the past few days.  I fell asleep reading it Thursday night and after a little refreshing nap, woke up and finished it in the wee hours.

I adored this epic fantasy. The premise is that all the gods that were ever brought to America by their worshippers -- Odin, Ganesh, Anansi, Baron Sameda, Kali, Brigid, Eostre, to name only a few-- are still around, hanging on as long as someone, somewhere, believes in them.

But the old gods are being challenged by new ones -- gods with names like Media and Technology . . . And a storm is coming; an epic battle for existence is in the offing.

The protagonist is a man called Shadow, an ex-con hired by the mysterious Mr. Wednesday to...
   
 
...but there's no way I can do justice to this magificent wild ride of a novel. I will mention that it won a Hugo and a Nebula -- among other top SciFi/Fantasy awards -- and that it's being made into an HBO series, due out next year.

I've read and reread Gaiman's Neverwhere and Anansi Boys -- what a treat to have another of Gaiman's fantasys to fall into!.
 
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Friday, September 28, 2012

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Good News! A Little Known Tip on Healthful Eating


My husband assures me that putting granola on ice cream turns the combination into health food.  Who am I to argue?

Not just any granola though -- this is homemade and I think it's kind of special. Here's my recipe.

1/4 cup flaxseed meal
6 cups old fashioned (not instant) rolled oats
1 cup hulled green pumpkin seeds
2 cups sliced almonds or whole pecans
1/2 cup hulled, raw sunflower seeds
1 1/2 cup flaked coconut (optional)
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup crystallized ginger, chopped fine (optional)
2 cups chopped dried apricots or dried cranberries

Heat oven to 350 F

In a pot over low heat, heat the honey, vanilla, and canola oil together just till the honey is easy to pour.  Stir together all of the ingredient EXCEPT the ginger and dried fruit. Spread the mixture on a greased baking sheet (or  two.) Bake 15 minutes then stir. Continue to bake another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool. Stir in fruit and ginger. Store in glass jars. Store extra in freezer.

We normally have granola for breakfast with homemade Greek yogurt and maybe some dried figs. (I think that milk sogs it up too much.)

Time to make the granola...

 
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Monday, September 24, 2012

Spoetry





As well as regardless  of
whether upon
slim or even heavy
as well as thin or even broad feet,
 you can observe Religious Louboutin footwear grinning for you.

I've mentioned before how I enjoy some of the spam I receive. The above 'spoem' was copied without changes from a longer email.  

And I manufactured the collage by combining two images from the Internet -- a pair of Laboutin heels and a picture of Madid's Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso -- and there you have it --  Religious Laboutin footwear grinning (well, smiling ) for you.

My brain may explode at the concept...



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